The biggest plus of being a king in the world of Crystal Chronicles is that you never have to carry the bucket. Maintaining the crystal chalice? That’s for the little people, man. Let’s throw a banquet and get a body shampoo and do whatever it is that kings do!
My Life As A King is decidedly less glamorous than I would expect a king’s life to be. This addition to the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles line has you overseeing a stripped-down settlement and building it up to prominence by adding homes, shops, and other buildings. There are some financial concerns, as these things cost money. You’ll also be able to send adventurers out to explore nearby areas and, hopefully, recover some cool stuff that will help your town thrive.
The catch is that you do most of this from a series of menus, and never venture into the dungeons yourself. That’s beneath a man of your station, of course. So instead you hold it down at home, deciding where to place buildings, what areas you want your adventurers to scope out, and generally look out for morale. If you send under-equipped adventurers out to fight on your behalf, though, they’ll come back in a box, and you’ll be greeted by a cute little skull next to their name on your daily report, which can be kind of a bummer. The game appears to take individual citizen morale into account, as you can enter a home and check to see if a person likes his siblings, parents, children, and neighbors.
It’s definitely a different take on the typical Final Fantasy style that seems kind of cool, if you’re into this level of city and citizen micromanagement. Look for it to be one of the first downloadable WiiWare titles to hit your Nintendo Shop Channel this May.